(12-03-2018, 08:09 PM)JagFan81 Wrote:

(12-03-2018, 06:14 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: You always play to win the game... NEVER for draft position.  This is the NFL.  It's PROFESSIONAL football.  Being a professional means doing your job to the best of your ability.  That's why coaches/players work as hard as they do to win the next game... no matter what.  It's what they get paid to do.

My guess is that the people that think the team should play for draft position either a) play too much fantasy football or b) play too much Madden or similar games.

Look at the top 10 picks in the last 3 year's drafts.  There aren't many on the list that are absolute game-changers or stars.  The ones that I would list are as follows.

2015 DRAFT CLASS

Maybe Todd Gurley drafted at #10
Reaching Amari Cooper drafted at #4

2016 DRAFT CLASS

This draft class produced some very good players in the top 5.  After the top 5 it drops off.

Jared Goff drafted #1
Carson Wentz drafted at #2
Joey Bosa drafted at #3
Ezekiel Elliott drafted at #4
Jalen Ramsey drafted at #5

2017 DRAFT CLASS

Only two stick out in my mind making a huge difference for their respective teams.

Leonard Fournette drafted at #4 - He makes a difference in our offense when he is playing.
Patrick Mahomes drafted at #10 - He has been playing lights out and is well worth his draft position.

My point is that getting a high draft pick doesn't always equal success.  There are MANY players drafted near the top that turn into huge busts.  We have one on the team now that was let go by his former team (Ereck Flowers drafted #9 in 2015) that is only on an NFL team due to injuries.

Exactly. I mean are Mayfield, Darnold, Rosen, Allen taking their team to the playoff? Most QB's need a learning curve, Mahomes is a freak one off and plays in an O that gives him lots of options. He doesn't have to make the play, he just needs to find the open receiver. 

I just can't get my head around Jags fans saying high picks gives you the best shot at talent. We are the example it doesn't!

Yes, those of us who advocate draft position assert that having better draft position gives you the best shot at talent.  It is a position established by the NFL itself.

No, those of us who advocate draft position do NOT assert picking a superior player is guaranteed with the high draft position.  Teams still have to get the pick right.  They just have a larger talent pool from which to draw which theoretically improves your chances of getting a good player.

Not a difficult concept.

Consider the top of the 1989 draft.

1.  Troy Aikman-QB
2.  Tony Mandarich
3.  Barry Sanders
4.  Derrick Thomas
5.  Deion Sanders

That's four (4) hall of famers and a bust.  Only one QB.

Teams 3-5 that year (Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta) all did their homework and got a great player. 

But only one team out of that top five got the franchise signal caller-that was the team picking first-Dallas.

Out of the four teams that drafted Hall of Famers with those top 5 picks, only one of those teams reached the Super Bowl within 5-7 years-the team that took the QB.

Is it possible that those other teams could have concluded that Aikman was the best overall player and the team that could have turned their franchises around?  Absolutely.

But is it possible those other teams could have drafted Aikman?  No, because Dallas, the owner of the first overall pick, was unwilling to trade out of that pick.  They realized the only way to get Aikman was the superior draft position that the #1 pick overall afforded them.

Taking this a little further if you examined the rest of that draft-then 12 rounds-you'll notice something interesting.

While there are good players, the remainder of that draft is completely devoid of Hall of Famers.

You have Steve Atwater who has been nominated but never got the votes.  You will see a guy like Mark Stepnoski who made some Pro Bowls.

But isn't it odd that the Hall of Famers are concentrated at the very top of that class?

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